Proteus, The Master Pokemon
by cyberfrogX
Summary: A wanderer and gatherer of knowledge, Proteus has been lead to Viridian City during his most recent pursuit. Here he teams up with an old friend to defeat an even older enemy. Slight AAML themes.


He slowly walked through the dark streets of Viridian. It was well pass midnight, his favorite time, and he was completing a check up on this city. Attributing his increasing interest in human activity to the lack of activity in his own solitary life, Proteus, as he now referred to himself, wandered the cities of humanity; he tracked the activities of a specific group who called themselves the Rockets. Having a keen interest in them for personal reasons, Proteus was rather curious when they seemed to disappear a few years back.

It was just after the death of their leader, Giovanni, that the attacks from this clan of misfits decreased exponentially. Proteus knew for a fact that the evil man's daughter had taken his place, but he couldn't figure out why their activities seemed to reduce to almost nihil. He now knew why. After their initial disappearance, Team Rocket silenced anyone who seemed to find their hidden trail. Being the psychic that he was, Proteus managed to keep his presence from being known. Their activities hadn't stopped at all; actually Proteus believed they were more active now then they ever had been.

They now resembled an anti-government agency. Working in the shadows of the crimes committed by others, they managed to turn a large profit while remaining anonymous. Almost half of the accidents and disasters, such as derailed trains or car pileups, were now caused by this shadow agency to cover up their crimes. They really didn't have must to do with small crime anymore; their recruits were all small-time thieves who proved themselves worthy by not getting caught, ever. Proteus was still unclear as to how the agency found these people when the law enforcement couldn't, but he did know that they all seemed to drop off the face of the planet. They left everything behind; they would just wake up, walk out the door and never be seen again. Proteus found it slightly amusing that they constituted about a good tenth of the missing people reported in this city specifically.

That is what drew him here. It was much higher here than in any other city, unless Proteus miscalculated, which rarely even happened. This organization was so good at keeping themselves hidden, however, that if it wasn't for the images Proteus received via his psychic abilities he would have lost their trail a long time ago. In a recent vision, Proteus received a very disturbing premonition; it told him very little accept that something big was about to happen and he might need some help to prevent it. Right now, though, he was just searching for a good place to rest. He didn't have any money, so a hotel was out of the question, but there had to be a nice cozy spot somewhere. Walking on, Proteus let the illusion he cloaked himself in shimmer to nothing. Levitating up to a broken window, Proteus climbed in to find a large empty room. Feeling confident that it was safe to rest here, He sat down cross-legged, and a glowing barrier embraced his body as he hovered just off the ground. Relaxing his mind, Proteus let his consciousness slip into the meditative trance that refreshed his body and mind.

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Sitting in the cushion seat he supposed he should be more comfortable. However, his stomach was swimming in butterfrees every time the red-head sitting next to him grabbed his arm out of fright. He really wished this hadn't been the only new movie out. Along with her, a couple of his other friends sat on the opposite side; one in particular had squinted eyes and at the moment was giving Ash the "raised eyebrow" look. He had been getting this look a lot lately. It didn't help when the young woman at his side once again clutched his arm causing Brock to grin broadly before directing his gaze back to the screen. Of all the monsters this movie could have had, it had to be a giant bug; 'Just my luck' Ash thought as yet again his right arm's circulation momentarily ceased.

It was another Friday night and, having nothing better to do, they decided to go see a movie. Ash would have rather spent the night getting to know the new pokemon he had caught a couple days ago, but when Misty insisted he had to go, his feet betrayed him. So here he was, stuck in this movie, blushing the whole time while the girl he likes cuddled into his side, and Brock keeping him from escaping. He had never been good at the whole dating thing and normally did anything in his power to avoid the situation, as it made him extremely uncomfortable. Brock had told him, however, that he needed to step outside his comfort zone, experience new things, enjoy all life had to offer; Ash silently cursed his persuasive friend.

Ash was now barely into his twenties and he was the Pallet Town gym leader. After Giovanni's violent death in a shoot out with the police, the Viridian gym had ceased to be operational. Seeing as Ash was very close to conquering the most powerful trainers in the Indigo League, they offered him the position of the last gym leader trainers would have to battle in order to be allowed to participate in the League battles. Ash was just thinking about how close he was to becoming the league champion when Misty shrieked and griped his arm so hard it went numb. He was quickly brought back to his uneasy reality, and realized the movie was reaching its climax. 'Oh great' Ash though, and he sighed as the huge bug reappeared, filling up the screen.

As they exited the theater Brock was busy talking to his girlfriend of the month, while Misty complained to Ash about how horrible that movie was. Ash was busy rubbing the sore spots on his arm. Of course this wasn't an odd event by any means. With the exception of Misty's complaining, this was practically their Friday night ritual. Brock would find a 'great' girl, or call up a girl he was dating, and ask her to the movies on Friday. After this he would proceed to tell Misty who would in turn insist that Ash come along because "It would be fun." Ash assumed she asked him because she didn't have anyone else to go with and didn't want to go alone.

The looks Brock gave him all the time suggested that Brock thought Ash had a chance with the girl. Ash, on the other hand, thought this was a little absurd since Misty regularly chided him. He just assumed she thought of him as a younger brother, since he was almost a year younger, and decided to keep his feelings to himself. Brock, however, found out somehow that Ash like her and had been pushing him to 'make a move' for a while now. Ash, being himself, just ignored Brock and went along with what he thought was best.

They were in Viridian City at the moment, and it was quite late. They all piled into the car. Brock drove while his girlfriend rode shotgun; Ash and Misty got into the back. They were only on the rode five minutes before Misty fell asleep, her head landing softly on Ash's shoulder. Ash let his gaze fall away from her sleeping form a moment later, realizing that he shouldn't stare. He was staring out the window when he saw it. First it was just a young man in a trench coat, but in an instant it turned into a humanoid pokemon Ash had only heard rumors of. He quickly told Brock to pull over; Ash had to know if he had actually seen that pokemon. Exiting the vehicle quietly so Misty didn't wake up, Ash ran down the street to the spot where the creature had been. He found nothing though, and looked around the area.

Looking up he saw a broken window in an old apartment building. 'Just maybe…' thought Ash. Always on the lookout for new pokemon, he couldn't wait to find this one. He ran through the doorway to the aged building, just as Brock caught up to him.

"Ash, Slow down would ya!" yelled Brock chasing him through the door and up the stairs. "What on earth are you doing anyway?" the breeder asked genuinely curious. Brock came to a halt just before he ran into the younger man's back. Looking over Ash's left shoulder; Brock saw a very large glowing orb. In the center of the orb he could just barely make out a human-like figure. Ash watched suspiciously as a young man in a black trench coat emerged from the orb.

"Yes, can I help you?" asked the young man. Then recognizing the younger trainer, he said, "Well, hello Ash."

"Umm, are you a psychic?" Ash hit himself for asking this; of course he was a psychic, this is just the image the pokemon produces to protect itself.

"Well, I guess that's what the people with my abilities are called. Though, I would much prefer it if you would call me Proteus," the man bowed slightly as he introduced himself. Ash felt a voice inside his head, 'I would prefer it also if my true identity remained a secret, as the last time we met I did erase your memory. I would not hesitate to do so again, but I could use your help.'

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Proteus stood there for a moment. He knew the younger man had seen his true form, but he also knew this man was honorable. 'Many legendary pokemon seemed to place their trust in him, what makes me any different?' Proteus asked himself.

"Nice too meet you Proteus, and I must apologize for my young friend's brashness, he can be a bit bullheaded when he thinks he has spotted a rare pokemon. He must have mistaken your, umm, whatever that was for something else," Brock apologized, trying to usher Ash out of the room.

"Oh, it is no problem; this isn't my place anyway. I'm new in town and I couldn't find a decent place to stay, so I chose a quiet place," Proteus said. Throughout the entire conversation, Ash and the psychic had been staring at each other. Ash was confused as to how this pokemon knew him; he couldn't ever remember a time meeting it before. Then again, it had said it wiped his memory.

"Oh, well we are staying in town over night," Ash said, "it wouldn't be a problem for me to get you a room at the hotel we're staying at." 'What kind of help do you need?' Ash thought, hoping the pokemon was listening.

"How generous of you, I wouldn't want to impose however…" Proteus started. 'It has to do with the disappearance of Team Rocket.' A voice sounded in Ash's mind and his eyes opened wide.

"Ash, I don't think we should just offer help to just anyone now that you are an important person," Brock whispered worriedly, "the fact that he's psychic makes him all the more dangerous."

"No worries Brock," said Ash regaining his composure. He sometimes resented Brock newfound overprotective nature. "Me and Proteus go back a long ways."

"Yes, old friends from a time now lost," replied Proteus cryptically. Brock looked back and forth between the two. He immediately sensed that they did in fact know each other, but he could get rid of the uneasy feeling in his gut.

"Come on Proteus, we having some… catching up to do when we get back to the hotel," said Ash turning to walk back down the stairs. Proteus started forward and followed Brock down to the street. When they reached the car, Brock's girlfriend was immediately full of questions. He did his best to answer them and calm her down.

Thankfully Misty was still asleep and they traveled back to the hotel to get some rest. Ash took Misty to her room and Brock left with his girlfriend to their own room. Proteus smiled as he stepped into the room he had all to himself. He never thought one day he would require the assistance of a human to complete a task he set for himself. This should prove to be his most interesting adventure yet. He turned to the door as Ash stepped in.

"Okay 'friend,' what is it you need?" asked Ash, arms across his chest and a raised eyebrow on his forehead.

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This is just the beginning to an idea I had pop into my head after reading too many pokemon fanfics. Tell me if it's any good, and if I should continue; Thanks. Constructive comment and suggestions welcome.

Btw I do NOT own anything assorted with or related to Pokemon with the exception of the plot of this story.


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